Anomalous Hall effect and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin ferrimagnetic NiCo2O4 films

Chen, Xuegang; Wu, Qiuchen; Zhang, Le; Hao, Yifei; Han, Myung-Geun; Zhu, Yimei; Hong, Xia

doi:10.1063/5.0097869

Anomalous Hall effect and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin ferrimagnetic NiCo2O4 films

Journal Article · Mon Jun 13 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0097869· OSTI ID:1872122

Chen, Xuegang; Wu, Qiuchen; Zhang, Le; ; Han, Myung-Geun; ;

The inverse spinel ferrimagnetic NiCo2O4 possesses high magnetic Curie temperature TC, high spin polarization, and strain-tunable magnetic anisotropy. Understanding the thickness scaling limit of these intriguing magnetic properties in NiCo2O4 thin films is critical for their implementation in nanoscale spintronic applications. In this work, we report the unconventional magnetotransport properties of epitaxial (001) NiCo2O4 films on MgAl2O4 substrates in the ultrathin limit. Anomalous Hall effect measurements reveal strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for films down to 1.5 unit cell (1.2 nm), while TC for 3 unit cell and thicker films remains above 300 K. The sign change in the anomalous Hall conductivity (σxy) and its scaling relation with the longitudinal conductivity (σxx) can be attributed to the competing effects between impurity scattering and band intrinsic Berry curvature, with the latter vanishing upon the thickness driven metal–insulator transition. Our study reveals the critical role of film thickness in tuning the relative strength of charge correlation, Berry phase effect, spin–orbit interaction, and impurity scattering, providing important material information for designing scalable epitaxial magnetic tunnel junctions and sensing devices using NiCo2O4.

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704

OSTI ID:: 1872122

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 24 Vol. 120; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of PhysicsCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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